Layoff Costs Pared Profit at Times Co. in 4th Quarter

The New York Times Company said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 41 percent, largely because of expenses related to job cuts.

Net income fell to $64.8 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with $110.2 million, or 75 cents a share, in the quarter a year earlier. Total revenue in the period rose 3 percent, to $931 million.

Excluding one-time items, the results beat estimates based on a forecast the company issued late last month, and its shares rose 81 cents, or about 3 percent, to $28.12. They are down about 29 percent over the last year.

The company announced that it was raising its rates for home delivery of The New York Times by about 4 percent, starting Feb. 6. The seven-day rate in the New York metropolitan area will rise to $9.65 a week, up from $9.25; rates outside the metropolitan region are higher.

At The New York Times Media Group, which includes the flagship newspaper, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, NYTimes.com and the radio station WQXR, advertising gained 7.9 percent in the quarter. In a conference call with investors, Janet L. Robinson, the chief executive, attributed the gains to an increase in color printing capacity and to strength in the transportation, telecommunications and financial services sectors.

But advertising revenue at the company's New England media group, which includes The Boston Globe, fell by 3.8 percent, largely because of weaknesses in the automotive, home furnishings, travel and department store categories, a reflection of the sluggish Massachusetts economy. In addition, revenue in the broadcast group fell 10.2 percent because of lower levels of political advertising.

Over all, advertising for the entire company rose 6.2 percent, to $653.9 million, largely because of strong revenue in December. But the company said that January had been off to a slow start.

Total revenue from circulation fell 2.3 percent, to $218 million. It was down 1.3 percent at The Times media group, down 7.4 percent at the New England media group and up 1.7 percent at the regional papers.

The company's digital properties, which include About.com, NYTimes.com, Boston.com and the Web sites of 15 regional papers, generated $198 million in revenue, accounting for about 6 percent of the company's total.

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Total costs and expenses were up 12.6 percent in the quarter, to $809.7 million, largely because of costs related to job cutbacks and stock-based compensation, which the company began expensing in 2005. In addition, newsprint expense rose 9.1 percent.

The company announced in September that it would cut 500 jobs, many of which have been achieved through buyouts. The cuts will save $50 million to $70 million by 2007, depending on the seniority of the employees who leave and when they do so.

The increase in the price of home delivery of The Times is expected to generate $7 million to $8 million in additional revenue in 2006.

Lauren Rich Fine, an analyst with Merrill Lynch, raised an eyebrow at the price increase. She said that while The Times had been able to raise its price in the past without much decline in circulation, "the paper is getting relatively expensive," especially outside New York. She also said that while subscriptions to the national edition continued to expand after the last price increase in 2002, they probably would expand more slowly after the next one.

Executives said in the conference call that they expected minimal fall-off because the price increase was modest and the paper was offering more coverage than it did in 2002, including Thursday Styles, the Escapes section on Fridays and T: The New York Times Style Magazine, as well as enhanced coverage of the arts, travel, business and real estate.

They said that they expected business to improve this year, with the television stations benefiting from more advertising during the Olympics and the midterm elections. They predicted advertising rates in 2006 would climb about 5 percent at The Times and about 3 percent at The Globe and other regional papers.

They also expect double-digit revenue and operating profit growth from About.com, where advertising revenue climbed about 51 percent in the quarter over same period a year ago. And they expect a new sports magazine, called Play, which is to make its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 5, and appear four times this year, to provide advertisers with a new audience.

Correction: January 26, 2006, Thursday An article in Business Day yesterday about fourth-quarter financial results for The New York Times Company referred imprecisely to revenue generated by the company's digital properties. The $198 million figure was for all of 2005, not just the fourth quarter.